Goupie switches from recyclable plastic to compostable bags

Goupie chewy chocolate, has swapped its recyclable plastic packaging to a compostable alternative, working with its supplier to come up with a design, which shows the consumer how to dispose of it correctly.

The compostable bags will bio-degrade within 12 weeks, if composted. This means they will feed back into the soil without any trace on the land around it. Even if they are not put into a compost, they are still likely to decompose in a land-fill, even though this is not the best way.

'Bio-degradable'

It is less energy intensive than recycling as it means the packaging can decompose on its own.

Grace Simpson, brand manager, Goupie, told ConfectioneryNews the reason it took so long to make the decision to switch to compostable is because a lot of companies are currently advertising ‘bio-degradable’ as opposed to compostable.

"Bio-degradable can pretty much be said about anything, provided enough time is given. The compostable certification requires a complete deconstruction within 12 weeks, without any nasty side-effects. Bio-degradable does not have these standards. We were also aware that not as many people keep a compost to recycle,​" she said.

"To mitigate this, we’ve dug deep to understand the differences, and found a bag that is certified compostable. We’ve also seen studies to prove that ‘industrially compostable’ works equally well in a ‘home compost’ as we were worried that the products wouldn’t work well in normal households. ​

"We also branded the bags with the compostable logo, so that people know where to dispose of the waste as you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference from sight. We have also written a series of blog posts to help people understand the difference and explaining how to compost properly​."

The decision to change the packaging came after speaking to packaging manufacturers and industry experts at trade shows and asking its customers.

Circular Economy

Goupie decided the best way to improve the public’s awareness of composting, was to be part of the movement themselves.

“We wanted to make sure we were making a move that genuinely improved our environmental impact as a company, rather than rushing into the decision because of the current stigma around plastics​,” added Simpson

“It’s easy to make these changes surrounding the hype, but as we found with our research on RSPO Palm Oil​, sometimes by switching away from a controlled system you can do more harm than good.​

"Our recyclable packaging means, when disposed of correctly, it’ll be reused to make the next generation of packaging. It may not be one we specifically use, but it’ll be reworked to create a new product. This is often less energy intensive than recreating the packaging from virgin materials and obviously gives possibilities to a more circular economy rather than single-use products​."

Goupie consists of a cocoa-rich syrup base which is filled with toasted rice and other natural ingredients (depending on the filling) before being fully enrobed in a 54% Belgian chocolate, available in 19 flavours.